WHAT: Press conference and petition handover supporting the Senate's Beetaloo disallowance motion
WHEN: 8.30AM, Wednesday November 24
WHERE: Parliament House front lawns
WHO: GetUp First Nations Justice Campaign Director Larissa Baldwin, Senator Lidia Thorpe & Senator Dorinda Cox
As Parliament votes on a disallowance motion on public money for gas fracking in the Beetaloo this Wednesday, GetUp, 350 Australia, Seed Mob, Central Australian Frack Free Alliance and Protect Country Alliance are handing over a petition of more than 110,000 signatures in opposition to public money being spent on gas.
GetUp First Nations Justice Director Larissa Baldwin will speak at a press conference outside Parliament at 8:30am tomorrow morning, where she will hand the petition to Greens Senators Lidia Thorpe and Dorinda Cox.
uComms polling commissioned by GetUp reveals the public are on the side of Traditional Owners. 74% of people believe Traditional Owners and local communities should have the right to say no to fracking, and 71% believe that the government should focus public money on renewable energy and public health services over new gas infrastructure.
GetUp First Nations Justice Director Larissa Baldwin said:
“The Senate must listen to the overwhelming public outcry and vote in favour of a disallowance to stop this disastrous handout of public money that promises to destroy sacred sites, poison water supplies and blow our climate targets.
“Traditional Owners across the Territory have united in the fight against fracking, making it abundantly clear that they do not consent to these fracking projects in the Beetaloo.
“Decision-makers should be acting to phase out fossil fuels, not handing out public money to prop them up. The Senate must vote to disallow this disastrous use of public money for the benefit of gas corporations.”
Seed Indigenous Youth Climate Network National Director Amelia Telford said:
"Despite over a decade of community-led resistance, the government and greedy gas corporations continue to ignore the concerns of Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities who will be first and worst affected by the effects of fracking. The Senate has an opportunity to listen and act. The Morrison Government must stop spending our public money on gas, and invest in community-led solutions to the climate crisis."
350 Australia Senior Campaigner Shani Tager said:
“Tens of thousands of people right across Australia are saying they won’t stand by while the Government gives our public money to the dirty oil and gas industry who are wreaking havoc on country, communities and our climate.”
Protect Country Alliance spokesperson Graeme Sawyer said:
"Fracking the Beetaloo Basin has the potential to unleash a greenhouse gas bomb of up to 1.4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases - that’s two and a half times the amount of Australia’s annual carbon emissions. It's an absolute outrage the Morrison Government is subsidising this industry with public money."
Spokespeople:
Larissa Baldwin, First Nations Justice Campaign Director at GetUp
Dorinda Cox, Greens Senator
Lidia Thorpe, Greens Senator
Media contact: Alex McKinnon 0411 829 334